August 9, 2021 Newsletter

Dear Friends,

Tangents:
In 1945, an atomic bomb is dropped on Nagasaki, Japan, containing plutonium manufactured at Hanford, north of Richland. Just three days earlier, area residents learned the truth about what they were producing at Hanford, after President Truman announced the atomic bombing of Hiroshima. Key atom-bomb components were produced at the secret Hanford Engineer Works. The chief of construction says not more than 1% of the workers knew what they had been working on since 1943, with guesses ranging from a rocket bomb to a nylon derivative. Go to article »

Instagram rock art is making hikers confused and cranky.

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

Eruption of the Etna volcano in Sicily
CREDIT: MARCO RESTIVO/BARCROFT MEDIA VIA GETTY IMAGES

An aircraft approaches the international airport in Frankfurt, Germany, as the sun rises on Monday
CREDIT: AP PHOTO/MICHAEL PROBST

A fishing boat (L) heads out to sea at dawn in Lhokseumawe, Aceh
CREDIT: AZWAR IPANK/AFT VIA GETTY IMAGES

Hannah Farthing, Paintings Department Assistant at Woolley and Wallis, with ‘The Laughing Girl’ by Sir Joshua Reynolds. A ‘Lost’ painting by famed artist Sir Joshua Reynolds that had not been seen for 84 years has emerged for sale. The oil painting was discovered hanging on a wall of a private family home in Hampshire, where the owners believed it was a copy. Eagle-eyed valuers from Woolley and Wallis auction house in Salisbury, Wilts, were looking at various items around the house when they spotted the artwork hanging in the stairwell. The picture, titled The Laughing Girl was painted by Reynolds, King George III’s principal painter, in 1787 but had not been seen since 1937.

Market Closes for August 9^th, 2021

International Markets

Bonds

Currencies

Commodities

Market Commentary:
     On this day in 1974, President Richard Nixon, crippled by the Watergate scandal, resigned. The Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 1%.
Canada
By Michael Bellusci
(Bloomberg) — Canadian equities fell Monday as investors digest the resurgence of Covid through the fast-spreading delta virus variant, while commodities dipped. The S&P/TSX Composite Index fell 0.2%, with energy and materials leading the drop. Health care and tech jumped. Oil slid to a three-week low with new waves of Covid-19 exacerbating demand concerns as investors weighed concerns about a pullback in stimulus. On the deal front, Blackstone Real Estate Investment Trust Inc. is acquiring WPT Industrial Real Estate Investment Trust in a cash deal valued at $3.1 billion, including debt. Meanwhile, Brookfield Asset Management Reinsurance Partners Ltd. agreed to buy American National Group Inc. for about $5.1 billion in cash.
Commodities:
* Western Canadian Select crude oil traded at a $13.65 discount to West Texas Intermediate
* Spot gold fell 1.9% to $1,729.99 an ounce
FX/Bonds:
* The Canadian dollar fell 0.2% to C$1.2582 per U.S. dollar
* The 10-year Canada government bond yield rose 1.1 basis points to 1.254%

By Bloomberg Automation:
     (Bloomberg) — The S&P/TSX Composite fell 0.2 percent at 20,437.42 in Toronto. The move was the biggest since falling 1.3 percent on July 19 and follows the previous session’s increase of 0.5 percent. Wheaton Precious Metals Corp. contributed the most to the index decline, decreasing 3.7 percent. Endeavour Silver Corp. had the largest drop, falling 7.9 percent. Today, 137 of 229 shares fell, while 87 rose; 6 of 11 sectors were lower, led by materials stocks.
Insights
* The index advanced 24 percent in the past 52 weeks. The MSCI AC Americas Index gained 33 percent in the same period
* The S&P/TSX Composite is 0.3 percent below its 52-week high on Aug. 6, 2021 and 32.6 percent above its low on Oct. 30, 2020
* The S&P/TSX Composite is up 0.7 percent in the past 5 days and rose 0.9 percent in the past 30 days
* S&P/TSX Composite is trading at a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.9 on a trailing basis and 16.4 times estimated earnings of its members for the coming year
* The index’s dividend yield is 2.5 percent on a trailing 12-month basis
* S&P/TSX Composite’s members have a total market capitalization of C$3.22t
* 30-day price volatility rose to 8.93 percent compared with 8.90 percent in the previous session and the average of 8.55 percent over the past month
================================================================
| Index Points | |
Sector Name | Move | % Change | Adv/Dec
================================================================
* Materials | -39.2920| -1.7| 6/47
* Energy | -34.8233| -1.4| 1/22
* Communication Services | -2.7453| -0.3| 3/4
* Consumer Staples | -1.6883| -0.2| 5/6
* Industrials | -1.1815| 0.0| 16/14
* Utilities | -0.1567| 0.0| 7/8
* Consumer Discretionary | 1.1775| 0.2| 7/6
* Real Estate | 3.1939| 0.5| 13/11
* Health Care | 3.1963| 1.4| 4/4
* Financials | 12.8833| 0.2| 20/8
* Information Technology | 21.4478| 0.9| 5/7
================================================================
| | |Volume VS |
| Index | | 20D AVG |YTD Change
Top Contributors |Points Move| % Change | (%) | (%)
================================================================
* Wheaton Precious | | | |
* Metals | -6.3680| -3.7| 13.6| 0.9
* Suncor Energy | -6.1920| -2.4| 21.3| 13.0
* TC Energy | -5.8660| -1.4| -47.9| 16.7
* Nutrien | 4.9680| 1.7| 12.7| 24.1
* Brookfield Asset | | | |
* Management | 5.2630| 0.7| -7.0| 37.4
* Shopify | 26.2900| 1.7| 123.0| 35.6

US
By Kamaron Leach and Vildana Hajric
(Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks dropped from record highs, and commodities slumped as investors weighed concerns about a pullback in stimulus and a resurgence in the fast-spreading delta virus variant. The S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial indexes closed lower to start the week, with the energy and real estate sectors leading the declines.
Moderna kept the Nasdaq Composite in the green. Treasury yields edged higher and the dollar strengthened. Crude oil touched the lowest in three weeks on concern the delta virus strain will hamper demand growth. “Most of the sectors within the S&P 500 continue to trade above their long-term averages and while there is some deterioration in the technical picture, stocks still look to see-saw higher through the last dog days of summer, wrote Paul Nolte, a portfolio manager at Kingsview Investment Management. Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta President Raphael Bostic said the central bank should move to taper its asset purchases with another strong month or two of employment gains, and proceed with that scaling-back process faster than in past episodes. “His comments are another trial balloon preparing us for an end-of-year start to tapering,” said Sam Stovall, chief investment strategist at CFRA Research.  Investors in general would prefer a sooner and more drawn-out tapering, than a delayed one that would then require sharper action. The big concern is that a delayed tapering would put the Fed behind the curve — if they aren’t there already.” Precious metals also sold off, with gold touching the lowest since March before paring losses. Silver dropped to its lowest since November. Strong U.S. payrolls data on Friday raised the prospect of higher rates, which would make precious metals less attractive relative to other assets.
Asian stocks were mixed, as shares rose in Hong Kong and China and fluctuated in South Korea.  The U.S. 10-year Treasury yield climbed to about 1.32%, while the dollar pushed higher. Chinese bond yields gained after inflation data came in above expectations. Friday’s payrolls report fanned expectations that the Fed may soon start paring back its massive monetary stimulus.  Along with the rampaging delta variant, that’s hitting commodities as investors also keep an eye on rising price pressures.  U.S. inflation data later this week will be a key marker ahead of the Jackson Hole symposium later this month. Elsewhere, Chinese technology shares remained under pressure amid concerns about Beijing’s crackdown. Bitcoin rose to more than $45,000.
Here are some key events to watch out for this week:
* Cleveland Fed President Loretta Mester; Kansas City Fed President Esther George among Fed speakers through the week
* The U.S. consumer price index on Wednesday is forecast to show prices increased again in July
* OPEC Monthly Oil Market Report due Thursday

These are the main moves in markets:
Stocks
* The S&P 500 was little changed as of 4:01 p.m. New York time
* The Nasdaq 100 rose 0.2%
* The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.3%
* The MSCI World index was little changed
Currencies
* The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index rose 0.2%
* The euro fell 0.2% to $1.1736
* The British pound fell 0.2% to $1.3848
* The Japanese yen was little changed at 110.32 per dollar
Bonds
* The yield on 10-year Treasuries advanced three basis points to 1.32%
* Germany’s 10-year yield was little changed at -0.46%
* Britain’s 10-year yield declined three basis points to 0.58%
Commodities
* West Texas Intermediate crude fell 2.2% to $66.78 a barrel
* Gold futures fell 1.8% to $1,731.40 an ounce
Have a lovely evening.

Be magnificent!

As ever,

Carolann

If a little dreaming is dangerous, the cure for it is not to dream less, but to dream more, to dream all the time. -Marcel Proust, 1871-1922.

Carolann Steinhoff, B.Sc., CFP®, CIM, CIWM
Senior Investment Advisor

Queensbury Securities Inc.,
St. Andrew’s Square,
Suite 340A, 730 View St.,
Victoria, B.C. V8W 3Y7

Tel: 778.430.5808
(C): 250.881.0801
Toll Free: 1.877.430.5895
Fax: 778.430.5828
www.carolannsteinhoff.com